A Morning in Vatican City

With an area of just 0.44 square kilometres, set within the urban fabric of Rome on the right bank of the Tiber, the Vatican is the smallest independent state in the world, both in terms of population and territory. The main gathering place, St Peter's Square, lies at the coordinates 41°54'07?N, 12°27'30?E. The heart of Vatican City is St Peter's Square, in which the basilica of the same name stands, with the great dome so dear to Romans and to visitors who come there from all over the world. Within the MEDIEVAL and RENAISSANCE walls that surround, except for St Peter's Square, the entire area on which the small state stands, you also find the Governorate Palace and the Vatican Gardens.

What is still today the Pope's residence, that is the complex of the Vatican Palaces, is an example of great historical and artistic value: it is a group of buildings that together count more than a thousand rooms, also home to some pontifical dicasteries (such as the dataria and the chancellery), as well as museums and the Vatican Apostolic Library, which holds a collection of ancient manuscripts and over a million bound volumes. Of all these wonders, though, we saw very little. We can say that from Termini, with a bit of a walk, you can easily go on foot!